Zero gravity lounge chair do not, of course, reduce the force of gravity on the body. However, its name is derived from the astronauts’ chairs often used when leaving the atmosphere. The force needed to propel a spacecraft out of the gravity pull of the earth is considerable, and exerts a great deal of pressure on the bodies of the astronauts. To mitigate this multiplied force of gravity, engineers designed the astronauts ‘seats until they left it completely, up away from the earth in order to spread the force of gravity out as far as possible through the astronauts’ bodies.

This same idea finally inspired the zero gravity lounge chair, which is a type of reclining chair that seeks to disperse a person’s weight as much as possible. Generally, these chairs start in an upright position and then lean backward until they reach the apex, where the person’s weight moves through all the points of support through the chair.

Some of these zero gravity lounge chair work via remote control and use electronic motors to correctly position the chair. Others simply lean back manually to a certain point. With enough padding and an accurate judgment of the person’s weight and the angle of displacement is necessary, these chairs try to replicate a feeling or “float” “weight”.